


Five Years of Peace//A Week at War

by thatmartiangirl



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Ambassador Sokka (Avatar), Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Assassination Attempt(s), Assassination Plot(s), Fake Character Death, Fire Nation (Avatar), Firelord Zuko (Avatar), Future Fic, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Canon, Protective Sokka (Avatar), Secret Relationship, Took some stuff I liked from the comics but not all of it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 21:27:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 8,103
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25942099
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatmartiangirl/pseuds/thatmartiangirl
Summary: “He’s obviously the perfect target,” a shadowy figure argued, “Not only is he the South Pole’s ambassador to the Fire Nation, but he’s also the son of their Chief. And I’ve heard rumor that the Firelord seeks his counsel constantly on matters not even pertaining to the Water Tribes! He’s done work with Yu Dao’s leaders and both the Chief of the Northern tribe and the Earth King also regard him with a great deal of admiration and respect. He is close friends with the Avatar, trained for a time with the Kyoshi Warriors, and if all that weren’t enough, he is speculated to be a member of the White Lotus! If we want the current stability to crumble, he’s the one that’s got to go first.”My take on the Spymaster Sokka AU
Relationships: Iroh & Zuko (Avatar), Sokka/Zuko (Avatar), Toph Beifong & Sokka, Toph Beifong & Zuko
Comments: 28
Kudos: 187





	1. The One That’s Got to Go First

A week before the 5 year anniversary of the War’s end, and the world is abuzz. Celebrations are being planned in cities all over the world, the biggest in the Fire Nation’s capital of Caldera. Leaders from all over the world are going to be in attendance and the Fire Nation is honored to be hosting so many different cultures. The guest list includes but is not limited to the Avatar, the Chief of the Southern Water Tribe, a few politicians from Yu Dao, and countless heroes from the 100 year war. The Earth King will be attending his own party in Ba Sing Se, but both nations have already sent each other commemorative gifts in a celebration of the 5 year peace. Citizens from around the world smile and laugh and move freely, enjoying the unburdened feelings of this newer world.

Naturally, not everyone is pleased with the peace. In fact there are two groups most upset by the current world, on opposing sides, ironically brought together by the peace they so despise. 

A month ago, they had planned in the dark, dingy basement of a safehouse.

“He’s obviously the perfect target,” a shadowy figure argued, “Not only is he the South Pole’s ambassador to the Fire Nation, but he’s also the son of their Chief. And I’ve heard rumor that the Firelord seeks his counsel constantly on matters not even pertaining to the Water Tribes! He’s done work with Yu Dao’s leaders and both the Chief of the Northern tribe and the Earth King also regard him with a great deal of admiration and respect. He is close friends with the Avatar, trained for a time with the Kyoshi Warriors, and if all that weren’t enough, he is speculated to be a member of the White Lotus! If we want the current stability to crumble, he’s the one that’s got to go first.”

It was a solid argument. The four other figures nodded, agreeing more and more with every point added to the list. They spread out, worked their contacts, and planned for the day.

A week before the celebration of peace, they would plunge the world back to war. 

Sokka slides to the right, swinging up his sword to deflect his opponent’s blades. The impact pushes him back, throwing him to the floor. He’s not down long, rolling himself up into a lower stance and pushing forward with a swing at his opponent’s legs. They jump over the blade, bringing the hilt of one of their swords down on Sokka’s elbow at just the right time to mess up Sokka’s grip. He fumbles to correct his hold, but the sword clatters to the ground. His opponent grabs his shoulders and trips him up, causing Sokka to go down, his opponent’s arm pressed against his chest, knees pinning his sides. 

“I win,” Zuko smiles down at him triumphantly.

Sokka, despite himself, smiles back, “This time, sure.” 

They stay like that for a moment, both catching their breaths, before Zuko quickly scans the room, and upon determining it is empty, leans down to press his lips to Sokka’s in a quick kiss. He then sits back, and helps Sokka up before getting them both water. 

Despite having been friends for over five years and in love for three of them, their relationship was still pretty new, only half a year. And it was still extremely secret, even to their closest friends. It had to be, for all the same reasons that the pair had danced around their feelings for 3 years, despite being fairly certain that they were reciprocated: Politics. 

That is going to change soon. The people-knowing-thing, not the politics-thing. Both Sokka and Zuko had agreed that they were going to tell a select few of their closest friends while they were all in town for the peace celebrations. 

The two head into the hallway towards the smaller of the royal dining rooms. “Next time, I think I want to work on my Chi-blocking,” Sokka says. 

“How’s that been going?” Zuko asks.

“Pretty good? Ty Lee’s a pretty good teacher and I think I’m starting to get the hang of it. It’s a lot different than fighting with a weapon.”

“It’s good to be able to fight without one.”

“Exactly,” Sokka agrees as the two arrive in the dining hall where a variety of food has been set out for them. “So what’s on your agenda for today, Lord Hot Stuff?”

“Mostly just preparations for the Peace celebrations,” Zuko replies, “I’m hoping to have my speech finished tonight so tomorrow when Katara and Aang get here we can actually spend time together.” 

“I can’t believe I’m missing their arrival to talk to some fishermen,” Sokka sighs, piling skewers of meat and fruit onto his plate, “I should be back for dinner though! Don’t start without me!”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Zuko replies dryly, a fond smile still touching his lips. “When are you meeting with Aiko?”

“Her ship should be coming in soon. I was going to head down to the docks to meet her right after breakfast. From there we’re heading straight to Man’inka.”

“Did you want me to come by and see you off?” 

“Nah, you just do your party planning. Wouldn’t want to get the napkin colors wrong and start the war again.”

“You joke, but it feels like that. At our first meeting we spent over two hours discussing color schemes.”

“You’re kidding!” 

“I wish. About halfway through Toph decided to voice some really strong opinions. Advisor Suzuki was monologuing at her for over ten minutes before he realized.”

Sokka howls with laughter, almost choking on his breakfast. 

“Luckily everything is almost finished,” Zuko says, “We’re just finalizing the order of events and the speeches.”

“Did you want me to proofread yours when I get back?” Sokka asks around a mouthful of mango and komodo-chicken.

“What would I do without you?”

“Probably crash and burn.” 

The two down their breakfasts quickly and start to walk towards their meetings, but before Sokka leaves, he pulls Zuko into an unguarded corridor and gives him a quick peck on the lips, “I’ll see you tomorrow night.”

At the docks, Sokka meets up with the only other person he knows who’s wardrobe frequently blends cool blues and fiery reds aside from himself: the Fire Nation’s Ambassador to the Southern Watertribe. 

“Ambassador Aiko,” Sokka greets, bowing in the style of the Fire Nation.

“Ambassador Sokka,” Aiko says at the same time, extending her hand in a Watertribe greeting. 

The two stare at each other’s hands for a moment before laughing. Sokka takes Aiko’s forearm. The last time the two had met in person was about 4 months ago, when Sokka had last traveled back home to the South Pole, but they send letters constantly via messenger hawk, working together to improve their nations’ relations, and it would not be a stretch to say the two were work friends. 

Aiko adjusts her blue travel shawl and pulls a scroll from her pouch, the action revealing a series of faded burn scars up her right arm. She hands the scroll to Sokka, “Your GranGran wanted me to make sure you got this. She also said I should tell you to come home more. I told her I’d see what I could do.”

Sokka takes the scroll eagerly, “Yeah, yeah. I have a trip coming up. Ambassador work. You know how it is.” 

“Yeah,” Aiko sighs, bringing her hand up towards her collarbone, to where a pendant dangles from a braided red and blue band and-

“Wait. Did Kuraq propose!?” Sokka asks. Aiko nods, her face flushing red and a grin overtaking her face, “That’s amazing! Congratulations! I’m really happy for you two!” 

Kuraq had been one of the Northern Watertribe members who chose to settle in the South during the rebuilding efforts. Sokka had worked with him a lot on the Southern reconstruction projects in the first year and half after the war, before he switched into an ambassador role, and the two got along pretty well. 

“Thank you. The wedding’s in a little over a month. I hope it lines up with your next visit South.” 

“I’ll have to double check my schedule, but I really hope to be there. Tell him I say congratulations!”

“You can tell him yourself. He’ll be in the Fire Nation in a couple days with Chief Hakoda and the others for the celebration.”

Aiko starts to ramble about how excited she is to show off her home nation to her fiance, and their wedding plans, and about how the two are going to do some shopping in the Fire Nation before her trip ends because they’re blending some Water Tribe and Fire Nation traditions. As she talks about how exactly she plans to settle in the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka wonders, not for the first time, what it would be like to get married or settle down with Zuko. He cuts off the thought before it goes too far. There are a million reasons why their relationship remains secret; for one, Sokka remembers the absolute scandal that occurred when Kuraq and Aiko got together, and Kuraq is not even a major political figure in the South, just a waterbender and builder. Sokka had been to  _ five _ different meetings during the fallout debating the ethics of dating as an ambassador, and while the eventual consensus was that so long as Aiko could continue doing her job and neither nation opposed, their union would only serve to strengthen Fire Nation and Water Tribe relations, Sokka has the feeling the verdict would be different for a relationship between the  _ Firelord _ and an Ambassador. He pushes these thoughts to the side as Aiko shows off her new shawl, an engagement gift from her future sister-in-law. 

They are able to get on their ship to Man’inka pretty quickly, and depart, their small talk about the happenings of the Southern Tribe and Caldera City soon switching to business, discussing the fishing agreements still under negotiation between the two nations. Some members of the Southern Water Tribe are concerned about the Fire Nation’s current fishing methods contributing to overfishing, while the fishermen they are going to meet argue that to change their methods is to condemn their islands to starve. This debate has been going on for months, and Sokka is really hoping that this trip will get the ball rolling on a resolution. He almost never wants to talk about fish again after this.

Well, except in the context of lunch. 

Aiko’s in the middle of suggesting a potential cultural exchange summit about different sustainable fishing methods when a deafening crash pounds their eardrums and the boat lurches, knocking the pair to the ground. Sokka twists, trying to get his bearings. Smoke is beginning to plume up from the side of the ship. A headache starts on the sides of his temple. He better not have a concussion. 

“Aiko! Are you ok?” Sokka asks, coughing a bit on the smoke. 

Aiko attempts to stand, but stumbles, unable to gain her balance on the violently rocking ship. She ends up on her hands and knees instead. “I think so. Just some bruises.” 

“Good.” Sokka looks around, trying to figure out the source of the explosion. He’s not an idiot; two ambassadors getting attacked on a ship is not a random happenstance. One or both of them is being targeted, and if something happens to them...he shudders to think of Fire Nation-Water Tribe relations afterwards. He unsheathes his sword, readying his stance, back turned towards Aiko. She’s not a fighter. Her skills are based purely in communication, and typically when someone’s trying to kill you, they don’t stop for a quick chat. They both need to get out of there. 

Familiar green silk and white face paint appear on the edge of the ship and for a brief moment, Sokka relaxes. Zuko must have been worried and sent one of the Kyoshi Warriors to keep an eye on them. She doesn’t look familiar, but there have been a few new recruits from the island and-

Suddenly the relief is gone. Sokka’s spent the last five years in the frequent company of Kyoshi Warriors, so he  _ knows _ what their makeup looks like. And this one, her eyeshadow is wrong. He draws back defensively and notices that her stance is off too. There’s no way she’s a Kyoshi warrior.

Which means she’s an assassin. 

“Aiko,” Sokka whispers, drawing back towards her, “Fake warrior. Get out of here. Be sneaky. Warn Zuko. I’ll keep them distracted.”

Sokka’s eyes are still trained on the warrior, but he sees Aiko nod from the corner of his vision. 

Then, he charges.

Zuko sits and enjoys tea with Uncle Iroh. They don’t get to do this often, with the two on opposite sides of the world, but in those rare instances where it’s just him, his uncle, and a steaming pot of tea, Zuko can feel the stress of his position melt away and lets himself enjoy the feeling. As a teenager, he often took such moments for granted. 

His Uncle is telling a story about how two of his regulars started dating following a truly unlikely event with a new blend of tea, but Zuko’s only half paying attention, the other half focusing on the hem of his robes. As his uncle’s story ends and the conversation drifts towards silence, Zuko opens his mouth, but quickly closes it again. 

“Is there something weighing on your mind, Nephew?” 

Zuko doesn’t make eye contact with his uncle, but moves his hands from his hem back up to his teacup. Iroh sits patiently as Zuko takes a sip of tea, letting the warm feeling soothe him as it travels down his chest. He knows he can say anything and his Uncle will still be there to support him, and he isn’t even going to say  _ the big thing _ tonight.

Zuko takes a deep breath. “Uncle, would we be able to have tea together with Sokka tomorrow night after he returns?”

Iroh smiles, “Of course, nephew. It is always good to catch up again with old acquaintances. Perhaps afterwards I can challenge him to a few games of Pai Sho. He always employs such interesting strategies.” 

“I’m sure he’d love to.”

The conversation drifts from there, from Iroh recounting some of the memorable games of Pai Sho he played against Sokka while Zuko pretends to understand the rules, to talking about how the palace has changed since the last visit. Zuko’s in the middle of telling the story of the Councilman Lu Rai fruit tart incident when the door bursts open.

“Uncle!” Toph beams, barging into the room, “You’re here!”

“Indeed I am. My ship arrived just a few hours ago.”

She rounds on Zuko, “Why didn’t you tell me our Uncle was here?” 

Zuko doesn’t even bother correcting the ‘our’ in that sentence. At this point, it’s basically true. “You were in a meeting! And security for the celebration is important! I couldn’t just interrupt!” 

“Sure, Sparky,” Toph says, grabbing the cup of tea that Iroh is already pouring for her, “It’s that and not the fact you wanted to keep Uncle for yourself.”

Zuko huffs, but it’s more for show. She’s not far off the mark, he did want to talk to his Uncle privately, but he’s already asked what he wanted to ask. Toph easily folds into the conversation, asking Uncle about his tea shop and swapping stories about working as one of Zuko’s advisors. Recently she has been working on breaking in the new guard recruits and has been having a blast whooping their butts. 

She’s in the middle of recounting how an overconfident recruit got taken down in just moments when a messenger interrupts. 

“Firelord, there’s an urgent message for you from Ambassador Aiko.”

Aiko can’t get to her feet. The ship just keeps violently rocking. It is a testament to her fellow ambassador’s combat talent that he is not only able to remain standing, but actually draws his sword and fights. 

She doesn’t have time to watch though. He is fighting and giving her the chance to slip away. She crawls to the edge of the ship, but when she pulls herself up and looks over, she sees an eel shark thrashing around a cloud of gore. Someone must have chummed the water. What a gruesome way to go. 

Aiko shakes that thought from her head and crawls along the sides of the dock towards the other side of the ship where the explosion went off. She’d take smoke over sharks any day. She peers over the edge and finds this side clear. The eel-sharks must not like the smoke and debris, but Aiko’s had plenty of experience with it and it will provide good cover. There’s no way to know if the “Kyoshi Warrior” has accomplices or where they might be, so she quickly throws herself overboard. Her leg smashes against the torn up side of the ship as she falls, tearing her skin up. The salt water stings the wound, but she moves forward, swimming as fast as she can towards the forest on the edge of the nearby island. It feels like it takes forever and her arms are burning and aching, but she keeps pushing ahead. 

She’s drenched and bloody when she reaches the shore, and her new shawl is probably unsalvageable. Hakari is going to be devastated. But Aiko is alive. 

She hears a caw overhead and sees her messenger hawk following her. Good. She needs to tell the Firelord what’s happening immediately. Somebody is clearly trying to destabilize the relationship between the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation. She just needs to regroup with Ambassador Sokka when he finishes taking out the assassin. She turns to check his progress and-

A Kyoshi warrior dumps a body overboard. Right by where the angry eel-shark was. 

Aiko’s suddenly on her knees. No. No nonononono. Sokka’s strong, and powerful, and resourceful. He’s trained in so many different styles of combat, he’s a war hero, he can’t  _ lose. _ Guilt eats away at her stomach. He was covering for her,  _ protecting _ her. She forces it down. This is bigger than either of them. It’s about the future of the Fire Nation and the Southern Water Tribe. Sokka gave her time so she could warn the Firelord. 

There’s blank paper in her hawk’s carrier. She pulls it out and scrawls her message with shaking hands. Moments later, a hawk soars back to Caldera. 

_ Firelord Zuko, _

_ While our ship was sailing near Red Fire Island, we were attacked by someone dressed as a Kyoshi warrior. Ambassador Sokka seemed sure she was fake. He engaged her in a fight and ordered me to flee and warn you. Unfortunately he did not survive the encounter.  _

_ I fear something nefarious may be afoot and will make haste back to the Caldera.  _

_ Sincerely, _

_ Ambassador Aiko _

Zuko stares down at the message in shock, not fully processing it. Everything past the word “unfortunately” just isn’t registering in his brain. Instead he focuses on the first part of the letter. The ambassadors were attacked, which doesn’t bode well. Is it related to their current project? Or did someone target Sokka specifically? He’s going to have to investigate his council and increase guard presence around the other ambassadors. The Kyoshi warrior bit seems troubling. He’ll have to speak to Suki and Ty Lee about that. Sokka will probably have some good ideas about what to do regarding-

The second part of the letter suddenly registers and Zuko drops the letter like it burned him and lets out an anguished cry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is my first time in years posting a fanfic, and the first one I've written for the Avatar fandom. The Spymaster Sokka AU hits like everything on my favorite tropes list, and figured why not take a crack at writing one. Let me know what you think!!


	2. Crash and Burn

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What happens on Red Fire Island

Toph can not see, so she can not read the letter that Zuko pushes wordlessly towards her when she asks what happened, but she can hear the broken repeated ‘no's coming from his mouth, can feel his heart beating fast and panicked, can smell fire and ash. Something is wrong. Very very wrong. And Zuko won’t tell her what it is.

She pushes the page towards Iroh and hears him pick it up. A moment later, his breath hitches. “Oh Nephew,” he says, voice laced with concern.

“Will someone tell me what’s going on?” Toph snaps.

“Sokka-” Zuko starts, “He’s-The letter says-” his voice comes out like words are getting stuck in his throat, “It says that he’s...dead.” 

Suddenly the ground below her disappears. Like it’s five years ago and she’s up in the air dangling over who knows what as the world falls apart around her, her only lifeline being a hand reaching out grasping hers. But now that hand is gone. She falls to the ground, burying her fists in the stone flooring. She feels something wet drip onto her arm and realizes it’s her tears. 

“It has to be a mistake,” Zuko says finally, “I saw him just this morning and he was fine!”

“Nephew…”

“No Uncle!” Zuko snaps, and the air in the room feels hotter, “He’s alright! He has to be!” The heat disappears suddenly and Zuko’s voice breaks, “He said he’d be back tomorrow night.” 

Iroh says something soft and soothing in reply, but Toph can’t make it out over the pounding in her ears. 

“How?” Toph asks. It feels like her lungs aren’t filling with air even as she tries to breathe in. It all feels like some cruel joke. As much as she has teased him for his lack of bending, he can hold his own in a fight, “He’s Sokka. He can’t just die!”

“No,” Zuko agrees, “He can’t. I’m going to Red Fire Island to investigate.”

He turns to the servant still standing at the door, “Get me Suki and Ty Lee. And have an airship readied.”

In his defense, Sokka doesn’t  _ mean _ for things to go the way they do. 

The assassin slashes at him with daggers-not typically a Kyoshi weapon-and he jumps back to avoid being stabbed. He runs through his options in his head. Daggers are meant for close range so if he can keep out of reach, she’ll be at a disadvantage. Unfortunately he’s not carrying his boomerang, which would have been his best long distance weapon. He is also not carrying his club, nor his jawbone dagger, nor his machete; all of them had been left back in his room in Caldera because as it turns out, being heavily armed all the time is a bad look for an ambassador. He is only carrying his sword.

He raises his guard and the two stare at each other, seeking an opening. Sokka swings forwards, but the assassin brings up one of her blades and deflects the blow, using the opening to stab at his side. He shifts back as the dagger jabs, nicking lightly at his right bicep. It stings, but barely. They’re back to holding their guards and searching. The assassin strikes first this time, aiming again at his arm. He deflects this time, pressing forwards. He swings at her, and she uses this opportunity to break his structure on his weakened right, pushing to disarm. He lets go with his right and swings back with his left, but his sword is meant to be two handed and the grip is awkward, and the assassin manages to jab a dagger into his left shoulder. It doesn’t go that deep, but his arm starts to tingle and it’s enough to loosen Sokka’s grip on the swing, sending his sword flying into the ocean. 

He’s now weaponless. 

He hasn’t been in a fight this serious since the war, and back then there were always at least two backup weapons on him at any given time, and normally a backup fighter. It’s strange how much peace changes things, and how much he had gotten used to it. 

He decides to run for it, into the ship’s cabin. Where are the ship’s captain and crew? Why are they not responding to this? He nearly trips over a leg sticking out of a doorway. 

Well that answers that question. It seems like someone took care of the crew first. Sokka looks to see if the crewmen has a weapon on him, but if he did at one point, the assassin took it already.

Sokka takes a breath to steady himself. This is why he started studying chi-blocking. He runs through Ty Lee’s lessons in his head. Third rule, chi-blocking works best with the element of surprise. He turns a corner out of sight and ducks into a doorway, waiting for the assassin to follow. She’s moving quickly, but with more caution than Sokka is. He waits, hidden, for her to pass, and when she does, he jumps out and hits the back of her shoulders with two disarming jabs. 

Unfortunately, his precision isn’t as good as Ty Lee’s, and instead of turning her arms to useless jelly hanging at her sides, she merely loses her grip on her weapons. It’s enough though, and he steps on one of the blades, dragging it back towards him with his foot. The assassin scrambles back away from him, her face betraying momentary surprise as he readies his chi-blocking stance, the other dagger forgotten on the floor between them. 

“Yeah I’m going to need some answers,” Sokka says, “The main one being: who are you and why are you trying to  _ kill me _ ?” 

The assassin, predictably, didn’t say anything. Assassins were like that. She just stares at him, face hard and eyes searching for a weakness to exploit. 

The silent stare off is broken by a dart whizzing past his shoulder. He backs up, snatching the blades off the floor as another figure enters the room.

She’s also dressed as a Kyoshi warrior, her makeup appearing closer to the real thing, but still not quite right. She carries a blow dart in her hand. “Sunset,” she begins, shaking her head, “I told you the client wants him killed on the deck. They’re going to be so disappointed.”

“Apologies, Boss,” the first assassin, Sunset, says, “He ran.” 

New assassin, not great but he’s already disarmed the first one. And new information. It sounds like someone hired them and is watching the scene. If he tries to slip away, they might follow, though they might not be strong enough to if they’ve hired assassins. He hopes Aiko was able to escape notice. There’s also the fact that they want him killed in the open, and mixed with the fact that they’re dressed as Kyoshi warriors...well that’s not good. He needs to stay below deck. 

Even with the first one disarmed, the two on one fight is grueling. While ‘Sunset’ is a close range fighter who uses daggers, ‘Boss’ favors long range, switching from a blow gun to bow and arrows. In addition to the opponents, his shoulder stings where it got stabbed earlier, and his arm is going numb. 

Boss looses arrow after arrow at him, and he dodges, while also trying to avoid Sunset attempting to snatch her blades back. The two assassins don’t seem to be paying enough attention to each other, and as one arrow nearly hits him, Sokka jumps out of its path, and it strikes Sunset straight in the chest. 

Boss, for her part, looks taken aback. Sokka charges her and plunges the dagger straight into her heart as she attempts to nock another arrow. 

Sokka slumps on the floor, catching his breath as the adrenaline recedes. The day starts to catch up with him and he realizes he was almost assassinated.  _ Assassinated _ . It’s one thing to know it’s a possibility, but another thing to actually experience it. 

The assassins implied that their clients were watching the ship. If he waltzes out they might be ready to attack, and the tingling numb feeling in his arms is growing stronger. He doubts that he’d be able to fight anyone else right now. Maybe…

It sounded like ‘Sunset’ didn’t speak directly to whoever hired them, so if he wants to get out of there, the best course of action would be to slip out as her. Ideally he also needs to trick whoever’s out there into thinking Sokka’s dead, so as to not raise suspicion. Once he meets with them, he’ll leave at the first chance he gets, and bring as much information about who they are back to Caldera. Then he and Zuko can come back with a bunch of soldiers and take care of them. 

He feels weird and invasive about taking off her robes, which he notices are authentic Kyoshi Warrior robes, even if the makeup was wrong. He notices that she has a red tattoo on the back of the shoulder blade of a sun dripping blood, the symbol of The Bleeding Sunrise, a mercenary group with ties to Ozai loyalists. Sokka became something of an expert on Fire Nation mercenary groups back when he started working in the Fire Nation, right after the first assassination attempt he was in the palace for. Zuko had seemed so resigned and said something in passing about how it happened every few months. Sokka immediately reviewed all security with Suki and Ty Lee, then researched every mercenary group known to anyone in the palace. 

With the Ozai loyalists ties, the group is probably planning on taking out Zuko next, though he can’t imagine why  _ he _ was the first target. He throws the Kyoshi robes on and then wraps his shirt around the assassin. He applies the Kyoshi makeup quickly, not really caring about it being perfect. It’s not like the assassins did it correctly. He drags the body on deck and hauls it overboard, hoping that whoever’s watching doesn’t care enough to fish it out and see that it’s not Sokka. The water is red and gorey, but he has to trust that it’s not Aiko and she’s fine. 

Aiko isn’t on land 20 minutes before she’s captured. 

Her plan to make haste to the Fire Nation only gets as far as twenty feet into the forest when her stomach churns and decides to empty all of its contents. She’s not sure if it’s the motion sickness from the boat, or the saltwater she swallowed swimming to shore, or the fact that she just witnessed her co-worker's dead body get thrown into the murky sea. Maybe it’s the adrenaline pounding in her brain messing with her stomach. Regardless, she feels sick. 

And in the moment of distraction, enemies strike. She feels forceful hands grip her shoulder and slam her into the ground, binding her wrists together before pulling her along. 

Well there goes the “go back to the Caldera” plan. New plan, figure out who these guys are and try to talk her way out of whatever’s going on. 

“I know environmental laws have gotten a lot stricter, but I didn’t realize it was illegal to vomit in the woods,” she says, trying to keep her voice light and inquisitive, as if this is a simple misunderstanding unrelated to her ambassador status and the recent assassination, “This seems a little excessive.”

The guards don’t answer her. She tries to push a little more. 

“You do know you’re supposed to tell me what I’m being arrested for? As part of the criminal justice reform laws that got passed a few years ago you’re  _ required _ to. And you haven’t told me.”

The guards continue their silence, but one twists her arm forcefully. She hears her shoulder pop. Alright, this isn’t working. Maybe they’ll bring her to someone with looser lips. 

She gets pulled out of the forest and towards the nearby city, where she’s pulled into a prison and towards an underground network of tunnels. She’s thrown roughly into a cell, the bars clanging shut behind her. 

Suddenly a deep voice cuts through the darkness, “Hello. Ambassador Aiko to the Southern Water Tribe, if I’m not mistaken? I had hoped to not involve any Fire Nation citizens, but then again, I don’t think traitors count.”

Aiko looks up to see a man dressed in formal red and gold robes, his hair impeccably pulled back into a topknot with a gold accessory. He looks like a politician if Aiko were to venture a guess. And he probably is. While the Firelord has successfully replaced most of his personal advisors and counselors in the Fire Nation capital, a lot of politicians further out have been more disloyal, discreet enough to remain unnoticed. There is a fishing company from Red Fire Island planning to meet with them on Man’inka. They must be related. But are fish worth killing over? Especially killing a foreign ambassador? 

“What have you done?” Aiko asks, loathing on her face, “You know that killing an ambassador will ruin everything the Fire Nation’s been working for these past 5 years! That it might even bring the Water Tribes and the Fire Nation to war!”

The politician huffs out a laugh and gives her a patronizing look, “Exactly!”

Aiko’s blood runs cold. It seems she was wrong to assume that maybe this was just about the fishing arrangements that were in discussion. This confirms a larger fear that has been hiding close to her chest since she was appointed to this position by Firelord Zuko and Ambassador Sokka three years ago: that all of her work will be for naught because the Fire Nation will never be able to maintain peace. That someday the war will start back up again and more teenagers just out of school will be conscripted and go off and die in their first battle. That the Water Tribe that had already been decimated by the war will see more damage. That more people she cares about will die. 

She thinks back to about an hour before, when Ambassador Sokka’s body was dumped over the side of a ship and realizes that it’s already begun. 

“So are you going to kill me now?” Aiko asks, steeling herself. She knows she’s small, tied up, and not a fighter, but she won’t make this easy for them. 

“Of course not,” the man says, “First you’re going to send a... _ warning _ to the Southern Water Tribe.”

Barely an hour after he receives the message from Aiko, Zuko arrives on Red Fire Island accompanied by Ty Lee, Suki, Toph, and an impressive number of palace guards. 

A crowd has gathered to welcome the Firelord to their island, but he doesn’t pay them any attention. His mind is focused on one thing and one thing only: finding Sokka. 

Suki is on his right guiding Toph over the wooden dock, Ty Lee standing in his blind spot on his left. They march up to where the Governor has come out to greet them, in a little stone pavilion by the docks. 

“Firelord Zuko!” he says, bowing politely, “To what do we owe the honor?”

Zuko restrains himself from lashing out at the Governor. He’s had a lot of practice over the past five years controlling his temper and has gotten pretty good at it, but this situation is different than a member of court being dismissive of a needed change. 

“Governor Akaishima,” Zuko replies, “I received word that the ambassadors between this nation and the Southern Water Tribe were attacked here today.” 

The governor puts a hand over his mouth, “This is the first I’m hearing of this.”

Zuko feels two jabs at his toe where the earth under him has been bent, Toph’s signal for a lie in the code that she and Sokka developed together. Zuko taps his foot once to acknowledge the warning, anger starting to pool in his veins. He doesn’t have the patience to do this the normal way. 

“Lying to the Firelord is treason,” Zuko warns. Flames lick at his hand. “What do you know about the attempt on the ambassadors’ lives?” 

Akaishima stumbles backwards a bit, surprised, but attempts to school his face. “I don’t know what you mean.”

Two taps again. Lie. Toph bends the earth around the man, trapping him in the ground as Zuko’s hands erupt into flames. “I won’t ask again. Where. Is. Sokka.”

Shortly after dumping the body, Sokka meets a man in a red mask. He picks him up and brings him to shore near the city. 

“What happened to your boss?” he asks, arms folded.

“The ambassador got her,” he replies, “She’s dead.” 

The masked man considers this for a moment. “And you’re sure the ambassador is dead?”

“Yeah,” Sokka says, “ _ Super _ dead. Got him straight through the heart.” 

He seems to accept this. “Good. Can’t have him scurrying around causing problems. It’s bad enough that the other one almost escaped. Luckily we caught her.”

Sokka suppresses the urge to flinch at the news of the capture of Aiko. “Sorry, I was a little more focused on the other one.”

“Yeah. He was tougher than we thought.”

Suddenly another masked man appears hollering towards them, “The Firelord’s here!”

Sokka’s hands immediately clench around his blades. Of course Zuko came immediately. He probably didn’t even think the whole thing through. This could be a trap, and now the assassins got the chance they’re looking for. Sokka’s arm still tingles, but the numb feeling has started to go away. Odds are there are more of these masked men nearby, but Sokka can probably get a few of them before they stop him. Draw some attention, maybe make it easier for Zuko’s guards. 

“Hold it,” the first man says, grabbing him by the shoulder, “We’re not killing him yet! We gotta wait for the Southern Water Tribe Delegation to arrive!” 

They make the wrong assumption about who he was about to stab, but regardless Sokka’s arms fall back to his sides. He doesn’t let go of the blade, instead turning over the new information. 

So they  _ are _ planning to kill Zuko, just not right now. That’s not really new information with the whole Ozai-supporters thing, but the when of it is more troubling than originally anticipated. If they’re waiting for the Southern delegation to arrive, then the assassination somehow depends on the delegation’s presence. It’s not that they’re working together, because it’s his  _ dad _ and his  _ tribe _ , so that’s impossible. There’s a more glaringly obvious reason. One that makes his heart stop for a moment. 

They’re going to pin the assassination of Zuko on the Southern Water Tribe. 

He has to admit, it’s a smart plan, in a twisted way. It gets Zuko out of their way while simultaneously creating a scapegoat and a reason to start the war again. Drum up some nationalist sentiments and effectively silence the growing number of fire nation citizens who support the peace. The targeting of Sokka and Aiko makes sense too, since they would be the ones poking holes in the narrative. The biggest one being that the Southern Water Tribe has no reason to kill Zuko. 

Oh,  _ that’s _ probably why they tried to kill Sokka. With him dead, the Southern Water Tribe does have a reason to go to war, not that they would be eager to do so. That’s probably also why his assassin was dressed as a Kyoshi warrior, since they serve as Zuko’s personal guard, which makes it look like a hit called by Zuko himself. 

He  _ has _ to get back  _ now _ and put a stop to whatever they’re planning, but they have Aiko, and he can’t just leave her here by herself, can he? Or should he? 

“They have Akaishima,” a third man says, appearing around a corner, “Apparently the Firelord brought the Earthbending terror. She may find our base if we stay. We must leave for Caldera now.”

“I’ll get the ambassador,” the other man says, he turns to Sokka, “You’ll go with Yuji. We have more allies in Caldera and will fill you in on your role there.”   
Sokka nods and goes along. He’ll find a chance to slip away later, hopefully with the names of these allies in Caldera. This is too good an opportunity to gain more information.

He travels with the first man he met, Yuji, in silence. As they take the backroads towards the capital, the moon rises overhead. Sokka sends a silent prayer to Yue, asking her to watch over Zuko while he’s gone. 

They don’t get a lot of answers from the man. He tells them that there was an explosion on their ship in the harbor ( _ true _ ) and that he was threatened into being quiet ( _ lie _ ). He claims that he is completely uninvolved ( _ lie _ ), then shuts up as he realizes that they can tell his truths from his lies. He’s chi-blocked and restrained, then brought to the airship as a prisoner. 

They reach the seaside and see the still smoking ship in the distance. Toph stomps on the ground, using her seismic sense to scan the area. 

“I can’t sense anyone nearby,” she says, her voice turning grim, “But I think I found something.”

She bends the earth hiding under the sea upwards, and when it breaks the surface, Zuko sees an elegantly forged gold hilt with a ruby and sapphires and a blade embedded into a rock. It’s the sword he gave to Sokka almost a year ago for his 20th birthday. His hands begin to shake, Sokka wouldn’t have let go of the sword so easily, but his missing sword isn’t proof that he’s  _ dead _ . 

They have already taken command of a few smaller fishing vessels, and Zuko heads out on a boat with Ty Lee and another guard. Toph, who’s never been a fan of boats, elects to stay on the shore and search with Suki. Several other boats make their way out, a couple making their way to the large boat sinking in the bay, most of them searching the water for signs. 

The water is filled with gore, but that could be anything. It’s not Sokka. But then Zuko’s eye catches something bobbing in the water, sinking and resurfacing. Something familiar and unfamiliar all at once. He reaches out, hands shaking, and fishes it out. It’s a shirt, once blue with white trim, but now stained red in places and muddy and brown in others. It’s unmistakably Sokka’s. 

Ty Lee looks at him, her eyes wide with concern and wet with tears. She has her hand up hesitantly between them, like she wants to comfort him but she’s afraid he’s about to explode. He doesn’t. Instead his strength leaves him and he collapses on the boat, holding the garment to his chest as if it might fill the giant hole that’s just been blown in his heart. Tears stream down his face as he wails. 

He doesn’t remember how, but somehow he ends up back on the airship. Toph clings to his arm tightly, as if he’ll disappear if she lets go.

Zuko is numb by the time they return to the palace, still clutching Sokka’s shirt to his chest. Toph’s still holding his arm as they enter, and he’s not sure if he’s grateful for her presence or angry and wanting to be left alone. 

Iroh comes out to greet them, Mai trailing close behind, and they’re both saying things, talking urgently, but their words don’t really come into focus. He’s in a fog, more lost and uncertain than he’s felt since the day of black sun. 

His uncle must notice his state because he stops talking and wraps an arm around Zuko. Zuko leans into it, seeking out comfort. 

“Zuko,” his Uncle starts, “Loss of a loved one is one of the most painful things one can experience, and unlike other wounds, the pain never heals. Grief is a heavy weight, but it’s not a burden you must bear alone.” 

Zuko knows Uncle Iroh understands, knows that he was never the same after Lu Ten, knows that his Uncle had lost his wife. But Zuko’s not interested in listening to advice right now. He doesn’t need his Uncle to tell him things will be alright or to look ahead to the future or to accept the reality of what’s happening. He doesn’t want to hear it, doesn’t want to accept that he’s now living in a world without Sokka. He wants to yell, to scream, to wake up from this nightmare. 

Instead, he lets his Uncle pull him down the hallway towards his chambers, pull his hair down, and get him into his bed, Toph still clinging to him the entire time. Iroh gives him a hug before heading out, saying he needs to speak with Zuko’s advisors about some pressing issue that Zuko doesn’t have the mental capacity to take note of now. 

Toph falls asleep in moments. Zuko pries his arm free. 

Sokka has never been one for spiritual stuff, with the exception of the moon, and Zuko has no idea what the Water Tribes do for their departed, but the thought of Sokka’s spirit lost somewhere fills him with fear. He creeps out of his room and obtains a white lantern by requesting it from some nearby servants. He channels his chi, pouring every ounce of love he holds for Sokka into his bending and lights the lantern. It flickers, bright and warm contrasting against a world now grey and dreary. 

It’s not the first time he wanders down the hall and into Sokka’s room, but it is the first time he’s here alone. It’s too quiet, the cold blue walls filling him further with grief, rather than the calm it normally does. It’s missing the warmth, the familiarity, the ‘ _ Sokka factor’ _ . It hurts all over again. Zuko stumbles over a pair of slippers that had been discarded on the floor, nearly dropping the lantern, as he makes his way to Sokka’s desk, a mess of paperwork, half completed tinkering, and drawings. 

When Sokka had first arrived in the Fire Nation a little over three years ago, he had a little trouble adjusting, especially with his one of his only friends in the country being the Firelord and incredibly busy, so he had started taking a weekly painting class, and like most things Sokka puts the effort into learning, he got pretty good at it. 

The top drawing is from two weeks ago, when he and Sokka had lunch by the turtleduck pond. It’s of Zuko, sitting and laughing as a turtleduck makes its way into his lap. He remembers the intense look of focus on Sokka’s face as he snuck glances over at Zuko. It hits him like a rockslide that he will never have lunch by the turtleduck pond with Sokka ever again. He will never see the cute little scrunched up face Sokka makes when he focuses, or see his eyes light up when someone laughs at one of his stupid jokes. He will never get to hear another of those stupid jokes. 

_ It’s too much. _

He throws open the door to Sokka’s balcony before collapsing into a sobbing mess. Moonlight washes over him like a hug. Zuko recalls Sokka, in his more vulnerable moments, talking about his first love. 

Zuko looks up to see her, a waxing gibbous, if he remembers the phases correctly. “Yue,” he chokes, “I’m sorry. Sokka- He’s gone.” 

Yue doesn’t answer, but Zuko doesn’t expect her to. 

Zuko doesn’t continue right away, but after a moment says, “He used to talk to you a lot. He said he mentioned me a few times. All good things I hope.”

The moonlight seems to pulse a little. Zuko takes that as a yes. 

“I really love him,” Zuko continues, voice breaking a little, “I love him so much. Even if we couldn’t tell anyone. We were both so worried about politics.” He stares at the flame flickering in the lantern, “That just seems so insignificant now.” 

He feels emotions squeezing on his heart, but it’s nice to be able to say things aloud. The night is silent in a way that demands to be filled. 

“Did Sokka ever tell you the story of how we got together?” The moon doesn’t answer, but Zuko launches into his story anyway. He goes on too many tangents and the flow is clunky and confusing. Sokka did always joke about how bad he was at telling a story. But he doesn’t tell this story for the benefit of anyone else. He tells it so Sokka can be there with him again, even if it’s just in memory. 

He falls asleep there on the floor of Sokka’s room, sitting in front of a lantern, talking and remembering the love of his life as the moon watches over him. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you all enjoyed! Please let me know what you think!


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